News

NFU Board Passes Resolution Deriding Farm Bill Inactivity

03 July 2013

US - The National Farmers Union (NFU) Board of Directors passed a resolution last night highlighting the organization’s disappointment in the US House of Representatives’ failure to pass a comprehensive, five-year farm bill last month, and urging them to complete the legislation before the extension of the 2008 Farm Bill expires on 30 September.

The resolution, in part, stated: "Family farms are crucial to our nation’s food supply, our rural communities and the overall health of our nation’s economy. The number of farmers and ranchers who make their primary living from production agriculture continues to shrink because of commodity price volatility.

"The expiration date of the 2008 Farm Bill has already lapsed once, leading to an extension to 30 September 2013. Congress cannot allow the bill to expire again; we simply cannot afford it. Farmers, ranchers and the lenders that provide them credit are at Congress’s mercy, struggling to make business decisions in an uncertain policy environment.

"There is no more critical issue for rural America and the consumers we serve, both here in the United States and across the globe, than passage of a new comprehensive, five-year farm bill in 2013.

"Some have suggested splitting farms programs and nutrition programs into two separate bills. Not only would this be a jarring disruption to the historic coalition of urban, rural and conservation groups, it would also likely effectively kill both bills, producing no legislative action for either."